Officials said last night's raids targeted a large house in the town of Sheikh Zuwayed and several others in nearby villages.

The dead reportedly included senior members of the al Qaida-inspired Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, or Champions of Jerusalem.

The group has claimed responsibility for attacks across Egypt in recent months that have killed dozens of people, mostly police and military. The group has said it carried out a suicide bombing on a tourist bus in Sinai on Sunday. Three South Koreans and an Egyptian were killed.

Militants in northern Sinai for years targeted security forces there, but stepped up their attacks after the July ousting of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi.